South Florida Food 50: Luis G. Brignoni of Wynwood Brewing Co.

Why he’s in the Food 50: Luis Brignoni’s perseverance in opening the city of Miami’s first production craft brewery has helped pave the way for other South Florida brewers. Small, independent and traditional are the three criteria the national Brewers Association use to define craft breweries, setting them apart from multinational behemoths like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors. Family-run Wynwood Brewing is very much a craft brewery, and Brignoni has steered it to some significant milestones. Pops’ Porter, one of Wynwood’s flagship brews, won a gold medal at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival — an accomplishment that can take a brewery many years to achieve; Wynwood did it on its first try. And Wynwood just inked a deal to put all of its beers on tap aboard the new Norwegian Escape, including an exclusive brew for the cruise ship’s pub, District Brew House.

Who is Pops? Luis C. “Pops” Brignoni came out of retirement to help his son open the brewery. One of the perks: Pops got his favorite Wynwood beer, a porter, named in his honor.